


Small Comforts

by scholarlydragon



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Nightmare, can't sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2020-04-23 16:55:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19155172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scholarlydragon/pseuds/scholarlydragon
Summary: Waking from a nightmare is rough.





	Small Comforts

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to Alulah and Jessy.

The nightmare was the same as it ever was.

_ Blinding crimson light as an impossibly strong grip dangled him over a pit of fangs and darkness. Screams echoed, his own and his mother’s, as he fell and fell forever… _

Hades bolted up in bed, throat scraped by the scream that followed him out of the nightmare. Fighting to control his breathing and calm his racing heart, Hades buried his face in his hands, fingers sliding against the slick of sweat and tears that the nightmare always brought. With the tendrils of fear still curling through his mind, the dark of the bedroom was the dark of Kronos’ gullet, and he was the swallowed child once more. It always took too long for reality to reassert. The soft touch of a hand into the crook of his elbow startled him a little, pushing away the remnants of the dream and bringing the waking world into focus.

_ Right. Not alone. _

The mattress shifted, new inclines and angles forming, as Persephone sat up and he lowered his hands from his face to look over at her. Though she was sleep-tousled and blinking blearily, the worry in her face was obvious. Her brow furrowed.

“Hades, are you all right?”

It had been foolish to hope that she’d never witness the aftermath of the nightmare.  _ Every time, I think it’s the last one and it never is. Time to face facts that I’ll never be rid of it.  _ He cleared his throat, feeling the rawness left by the scream. 

“It was just a nightmare,” he said quietly, laying a hand over hers on his arm, “Sweetness, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Persephone scooted closer and leaned against him. Hades lifted his arm to cuddle her close and she looped her arms around his waist, her temple pressed into the hollow of his shoulder. The soft fabric of her over-sized shirt tickled at his side.

“Don’t be silly, Hades. It’s not like you planned to have a nightmare. Are you all right, though?”

He sighed. “I will be. It’s not the first time I’ve had that dream. I’m sure it won’t be the last.” He reached up with his free hand and wiped at his face, self-conscious about the tearstreaks and hoping to clear them away before she noticed. Her attention caught by the motion, Persephone craned her neck to look up at him and her eyes widened in shock. 

“Hades!” Her hand came up to trace the drying trails of moisture on his cheeks. “If it causes tears, it’s not ‘just a nightmare’!” Hades shook his head a little, resisting the impulse to pull away. It had long been a source of embarrassment that something as simple as a nightmare could reduce him to tears. In the past, confessing the source of the night terrors hadn’t always gained the most sympathetic reactions, which only made matters worse.  _ But, surely Persephone would be safe to tell? _

“It’s less of a nightmare,” he hedged, “and more of a memory of something.” He sighed. “Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed that it still affects me like this. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought I moved past this problem.” Persephone hugged him closely, still peering up earnestly.

“Sounds like there’s something in there you still need to work through. Do you want to talk about it?”

He hesitated, torn. He trusted Persephone but it was difficult to voice this. Especially after how Minthe and so many others had reacted the first time.  _ I have nightmares about my father eating me. Doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in a king. I think I’d even take them pitying me over disappointed disbelief.  _ Unable to make up his mind, he settled for simple honesty and admitted, with a sigh, “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t we just lie down?” she asked softly, “You can tell me if you want.” She coaxed him back down on the bed, lying on his side, and tucked herself against his back, lower arm tucked under the pillows supporting their heads, upper arm draped over his side, and warm breath tickling the back of his neck. The contrast between her small body and his larger was almost ludicrous in this position.

She tried to wrap her arms around him, but her smaller frame just wouldn’t fit. Muttering, Persephone scooted up on the bed. “Move down a little.” Hades obliged, chuckling at her determination to make this work. Dragging pillows down for both of them, Persephone settled, the back of his head propped against the soft cushion of her chest. Her lower arm threaded through the hollow between his neck and shoulder, stroking his chest and her upper hand combed into his hair. Hades had to admit this was an excellent solution to their size differences.

Persephone hummed in satisfaction.

“There! Now-” she combed her fingers through his hair, “Tell me about the nightmare if you want. If you don’t want to, well, I just like doing this.” He smiled.

“I like it, too. That feels amazing.”

Persephone chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “It does to me, too. I’m not sure why I like playing with your hair so much.” Hades laughed.

“Feel free to anytime you want.”

Silence fell for a few minutes as they curled together, enjoying the comfort of each other. Hades relaxed against her, lulled by the movement of her fingers combing into his hair, the drifting caress of her fingers against his chest. Though worry still twisted in his gut, the sense that he could safely tell Persephone about the dreams was growing slowly.  _ She won’t laugh or turn away. _ He took a deep breath before speaking quietly.

“The nightmare is about my father.”

“Kronos?” Hades could feel the vibration of her voice through her chest against the back of his head.

“The very same.” He sighed, lifting her hand from his chest and interlacing their fingers. “How much do you know of the Titan war?”

“Some. I admit I’m a little fuzzy on the details.” She squeezed his hand. “I know that you and Zeus and Poseidon led the fight to overthrow the Titans.”

“That’s what they put in the history books. Not many know what happened before.”

Her gentle touches and comforting presence teased the words from him and Hades told her everything. About Gaia’s prophecy, about being swallowed, about the terrible solitude for so long before being vomited up once more, about the bewildering readjustment to the outside world, and the long, painful healing of the scars that laced over his skin.

As he finished, Hades swallowed hard, nervousness over her reaction mingling with the pain that remembering always brought. Persephone hugged him as closely as she could given their awkward positioning, wrapping her arm around to press their linked hands against his chest.

“Oh, Hades,” she whispered softly into his hair. “I can’t even imagine.”

“As you might guess,” he said quietly, “that part tends to be left out of the books. Not terribly awe-inspiring that the conquering heroes were eaten first.” He sighed. “It always seems so silly to say it out loud. I mean, I’m a king. Lord of the dead. Over 2000 years old. Yet I have nightmares about being six and my father swallowing me.”

She nuzzled into his hair. “Hades, that was a thing that actually happened and it clearly had an effect on you. It’s not so silly to think you’d still have nightmares about it. If it helps, I have my own nightmare that seems ridiculous whenever I try to explain it, and it’s not even anything that really happened.” He felt her shake her head a little. “I have nightmares of my mother locking me into a greenhouse with no doors.”

Hades squeezed her hand, touched by her expression of empathy. “Knowing what you went through with Demeter, that’s not surprising.” He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Kore. It helps to know that you understand.”

He felt the motion of her shrug against his back. “I’m not sure I can really understand what you went through, but I definitely understand about recurring nightmares. So you’ll get no judgement from me.”

Hades marveled once more, as he so often had of late, at how different she was from nearly everyone he’d ever known. Nearly every flaw he’d ever shown her, every odd quirk or foible, met with easy acceptance.

They lay together, needing no conversation but the motion of her fingers in his hair and the strokes of his thumb on the back of her hand. Gradually the hand in his hair stilled.

“Kore?” he whispered. 

A soft snore was her only response. She had dozed off.

It was not uncommon for him to lie awake for hours after one of the nightmares, sleep as slippery and elusive as fish in a stream. But now, with her warm weight against his back and her gentle embrace encircling, Hades felt sleep stealing over him.

He raised her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers gently and earning a sleepy mumble in return. Hades chuckled.

“Good night, sweetness,” he whispered, and gave himself over to sleep.


End file.
